It's A Wonderful McLife

Finally February

Well, after many attempts to download, organize, edit and then post pictures – and having things go fooey at all different places in that process – we are finally back and getting to the love! Whew!

Arthur feels about eating chocolate cake batter, suspiciously how his mom feels about it. Must be genetic…

And of course the cake was for this guy! Matt had another one of those birthday things, and got a little bit of “big boy” gifts…and then some others. Love this man and glad he was born!

Elliot was thrilled to go to her second annual Daddy-Daughter dance… Arthur also needed to get in on the photos… …but ultimately these two set off for a magical night…

…so magical!

Mom got a date in too. Sushi with her Bean (or rice and soy beans for Elliot, sushi for Mom…either way, it was super fun)!

Valentine’s Day!

We went to Taylor, Aubree and Sam’s house again. It has become quite the tradition. They made a delicious meal for us…

…and everyone had a blast decorating cookies!

Mom and Dad celebrated the next night, but the wait was worth it.

Arthur adamantly told Mom that he needed his pen his pocket…

…just as Melissa happened to be talking to Grampy. Grampy was more than thrilled to realize his genetics have been passed down, and sent Arthur a congratulatory selfie… now we are trying to decide if we should start Arthur in engineering now, or let him discover his knack all on his own…Finally getting some of the rooms in our house all put together! (Well, they stay put together for about five minutes. But hey!)

Pizza night with the kiddies!

Melissa got to got to the LDS Temple in Redlands, with one of her good friends. When they got hungry afterwards, they discovered the town’s largest breakfast quesadilla…nothing like a light snack before bed!

And the next day we were joined by family, friends and teepees! Alina and Elliot have been planning a sleepover since they met last summer. Alina’s mom, Lindsey, is Melissa’s amazing friend she has known since BYU Hawaii, and they came along with David to visit with us for a week!

Thankfully, that first Saturday and Sunday Grammy and Danny were able to come hang out too! So so fun to have everyone together at our home. And of course, with Grammy came Boo Bear. Jude is still not too sure about the reaching in from the behind regions to pull out his prize…

…but things can always get crazier! 😉

Grammy tried out the gadget Matt borrowed from school…a virtual reality gaming system. She was a great sport as we taught her how to draw in 3D. This ended up being a great diversion for all throughout the week.

Before Grammy and Danny had to head home, we went up to a neat little area, just 15 minutes away or so, with a gorgeous walking trail. Arthur was loving his uncle time!

A real grove of redwoods, with real awesome people in them!

Explorer boy!

Poor Jude did not have a jacket in the car like we thought. Here he is, trying to warm up once Mom figured out a solution using her jacket.

Cute girl!

The whole gang at the duck pond!

The next day, David had to work (and Grammy and Danny were back to their homes), but the rest of us went to check out desert of the most awesome kind. Jude approved! (And we had his jacket this time.)

Mountain goat-kids…

Such a good Daddy!

Lindsey rocked some yoga at an awesome overlook.

The last couple of years this girl has discovered her inner adventurer.

Sweet Alina!

Arthur is good if he has a stick.

Something to explore, climb or see at every turn.

Mom was there too!

When Matt goes up high…

…he finds the best views.

Just a narrow passage back to the car.

Our last stop might have been the last straw for poor Arty. (Note: close your mouth if you fall on sand. Poor baby.)

Jude has always been a little more at-one with the sand.

After our desert adventures, we were glad to have a quiet day at home, then the next day we had a wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa. Alina and Elliot were loving the animal toys.

Arthur just loves his Grandpa.

So fun to have Lindsey meet our family. Her and Grandma have lots of common interests!

Saturday we all headed to the wedding reception of Matt’s coworker. It was a kid friendly affair…

…complete with a bounce house…

…the scenic overlook of their own backyard…

…soda and smiles for everyone…

…the ability to bring as many family members that you want (and yay for cousins coming into town!)…

…and a mechanical bull! Doesn’t get much better than that!

In those chilly moments we were sure glad to have everyone there.

And some of us were pretty thrilled with the wedding dessert!

Don’t be fooled…the kids were not the only ones having fun. Sadly, David, Lindsey, Alina and our fun cousins were all taking off the next day. At least we all got to have one last wild ride.

Sunday night we were sad that Melissa’s family were gone, but at least we could do dinner with Matt’s side! Billy was thrilled to be there…